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The province of Trat is located in the east of Thailand and is often only used as a transit area. Either to travel to the islands of Trat province, such as Koh Chang, or even further on to Cambodia. In the Bo Rai district is the Trat Chong Ecomuseum. The live museum tells the story of the Chong people, who have a strong connection to nature and are the original inhabitants of the province.
Insight Into the Traditions and the Chong Chang Tune Live Ecomuseum
It’s more like a small village, partly an open-air museum, where various activities are offered to visitors. In other words, you get a small insight into the Chong community and can experience the local traditions up close.
A comprehensive package is offered at the Trat Chong Ecomuseum for 800 baht, which I can only recommend. It includes lunch, massage, mud bath, steam sauna, and more. A great offer for this price. Otherwise, you can also book all activities individually for about 200 baht.
Staying in the Chong Village
We arrived in the Chong village late in the morning. We were greeted with herbal tea while we were told something about the history and tradition of the village. With rumbling stomachs, it was time for lunch. They served some traditional dishes of the village and other Thai food. Very delicious.
Now it was time to try out all the activities offered in the village. First, we went to the river to take a mud bath or search for gemstones in the water. We took about a 5-minute ride on a motorcycle with a sidecar.
At the river, we encountered an old lady and a few little girls who were just making a dam out of Salacca leaves. This is done every year during the rainy season in the village to dam up the river’s water.
If the water is not collected with these small dams, it may happen that after the rainy season there is no more water left in the river.
Then we got to the actual reason why we were at the river. The little girls showed us the traditional mud bath and smeared it on their friend “View”. Of course, you can do this too. Afterward, your skin feels a lot cleaner.
Next on the list was searching for gemstones in the riverbed. The areas of Chantaburi and Trat are known for their gemstones, and so we were able to search for small gemstones together with the girls from the village.
Unfortunately, the search was not really successful. And I left the tiny stone, the size of a grain of sand, to the girls. It was a nice experience to get to know the traditions and the life here.
Back in the Village of the Trat Chong Ecomuseum
After the activities at the river, we went back to the village because there were also a lot more things we could try out here. First up was a kind of steam sauna. You sit under a woven basket, with only your head sticking out. Under the basket there is a hot rice cooker that makes it very hot inside.
The whole procedure takes about 10 to 15 minutes and made me sweat a lot. Apart from the fact that it’s really hot under the basket, it’s relaxing for the body. Once the steam sauna is over, you get another hot herbal tea. Coming out of the sauna is a really pleasant experience since, even in Thailand, the air feels really cool afterward.
If you like, you can then visit two more stations. A 15-minute massage, offered by the older women in the village, and a facial mask. A real wellness day that’s very relaxing for the body.
At the last station, you can then make a kind of medicine yourself as a finale. Many Thais use it, for example, against seasickness or colds, to smell it.
Everything is prepared in a small jar. Pepper, nutmeg, clove, selinum, camphor, and borneol are mixed in it. Then you have to shake the mixture in the jar for about two minutes before it can unfold its full effect. A great souvenir to take home that is also useful.
Visiting the Trat Chong Ecomuseum
If you want to visit the live museum yourself, it’s best to combine it with a stay in Trat. From there, it’s about a 45-minute drive to the village. So, you can get here cheaply by taxi. As mentioned at the beginning, the entire program (including lunch) costs 800 baht per person. If you only want to do individual activities, they cost 200 baht per activity.
Unfortunately, almost no English is spoken in this village, so your accommodation will have to help you a bit with booking. A visit can currently only be booked by phone (+66 824 858338). Communication works very well with gestures and a bit of sign language and is another experience. Or you can simply learn some Thai, at least the basics.
Conclusion
I can strongly recommend a trip to the Trat Chong Ecomuseum. I’m actually not a big fan of museums, but this is an entirely different experience. You can communicate with the residents a bit, as far as language skills allow, and get an insight into the traditions of the Chong people.
In addition, the whole thing is associated with many activities, so it’s really fun. It’s like a day in a traditional spa, completely off the tourist trails of Thailand.
Have you ever been to the province of Trat? Have you ever experienced a live museum or visited the Trat Chong Ecomuseum? We look forward to your feedback in the comments!
Photo 8: Katharina Zwettler from die Fotofüchse
Many thanks to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, who invited us on this trip. Opinions and recommendations are, as always, our own and were not influenced by the invitation.
